beat
verb (used with object)
to strike violently or forcefully and repeatedly.
had been beating
-
past perfect progressiveof beat.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s interesting because this idea didn’t seem to come from Bannon himself, but from Daniel Schultz, who’s from Arizona and had been beating this drum of low level positions for a little while.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2021
I was 31 and had been beating a lot of tour-level players in money games for years, but still I doubted myself.
From Golf Digest ● Aug. 27, 2019
When P-47 finally bounded out of the cage and disappeared, I noticed that for a long time my heart had been beating with an unaccustomed, satisfying fear.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 5, 2017
Huawei had been beating out Cisco in emerging markets by offering significantly cheaper products.
From Reuters ● Oct. 8, 2012
And her own heart, which had been beating much too quickly, slowed inside her chest.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
